News

22.10.2019

Unsound New York Returns With Two-Day Event

Without resting much after Unsound Krakow, Unsound is set to return to New York on November 22nd and 23rd.

Unsound produced five major events in New York between 2010 and 2016. The earliest incarnations took place in a city whose electronic-music and club scene differed wildly from today’s. Unsound (in collaboration with many presenting curators and partners including Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, ISSUE Project Room and The Bunker) was the first event of its kind devoted to a multi-day exploration of international electronic, experimental and dance music across Manhattan and Brooklyn. Between 2015 - 2017, Unsound moved its North American base to Toronto, partnering with Luminato Festival to present major events in the abandoned Hearn Generating Station power plant.

Unsound New York 2019 is the first step toward a new Unsound future in the city, with the two-day event culminating with Knockdown Center as the main presenter and venue. The focus of the 2019 program is entirely on live shows and performances.

On November 23rd, Unsound takes over Knockdown with a lineup bringing together artists from nine different countries, moving from ambient to noise and club music. Canadian TIM HECKER will perform with the KONOYO ENSEMBLE, blurring Hecker’s trademark sound with traditional Japanese musicians performing gagaku, the oldest classical music in Japan. Fellow Kranky labelmate Liz Harris, a.k.a. Grouper, will present the U.S. premiere of NIVHEK, a minimalist project that is harsh and dreamlike, resulting partially from an Unsound residency in Murmansk, deep in the Russian arctic. Spearheading a new movement of modular synth music, Berlin-based Italian CATERINA BARBIERI will perform her first New York show, playing with tempo, patterns and arpeggiated sound to take listeners on a mind-altering journey.

THE BUG, a.k.a. Kevin Martin, has long been closely associated with Unsound, so it makes sense that his first stateside appearance in four years is at Unsound New York, joined by MISS RED, whose fiery delivery and charisma are sure to make an impression. Also moving the night into rhythmic, heavy sound is AMNESIA SCANNER. Likewise connected to Unsound since first appearing on the scene, they will present their massive A/V show, in which sounds are stretched and crushed into a hybrid of pop and club music that makes the future tangible.

Opening the room is SOFT POWER, where the music of PC Music affiliate FELICITA collides with traditional folk dance forms from ŚLĄSK SONG AND DANCE ENSEMBLE, one of Poland’s largest folk ensembles, established in 1953. Together they create a spectacular show combining vibrant dance, mournful piano melodies, ambient noise and wild synthetic pop.

A second room at Knockdown is presented with longtime Unsound New York partner The Bunker as well as Quo Vadis. The lineup includes a series of special live collaborations from local artists, moving throughout the evening from noise to techno experiments: FURTHER REDUCTIONS (ROSE E. KROSS & SHAWN O’SULLIVAN), ABBY ECHIVERRI & LEISURE MUFFIN, RRAO & CLAY WILSON, JANUARY HUNT & OCTONOMY, VIA APP & BOOKWORMS PRESENTS: ASTHYNA and SHREDDED NERVE & JACKSON-PRATT. A performance from LA-based duo PEDESTRIAN DEPOSIT rounds out this program.

On the 22nd November, the day before the Knockdown Center event, Blank Forms and the Polish Cultural Institute New York will present the U.S. premiere of Polish legends KSIĘŻYC. Originating in the ’90s, this band has a cult following thanks to their distinctive experimental sound which combines vocals, acoustic instruments and tape and is influenced by minimalism, Slavic folk and psychedelia. For Unsound New York they play a free show in St. Peter’s Church in Chelsea.

Tickets to the Unsound event at Knockdown Center go on sale today, priced at $20/25/30 in advance, and $35 at the door. These are available via Eventbrite and Resident Advisor.

Unsound New York 2019 is presented by Unsound and Knockdown Center in partnership with Blank Forms, The Bunker and Quo Vadis. Soft Power is organised in collaboration with the Adam Mickiewicz Institute as part of the Polska Music programme and POLSKA 100, the international cultural programme celebrating the centenary of Poland regaining independence.Financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland as part of the multi-annual programme NIEPODLEGŁA 2017–2022. Księżyc is presented by Blank Forms and the Polish Cultural Institute New York. Caterina Barbieri and Miss Red are presented with We Are Europe.